Structure of a non-volatile memory cell and method of forming the same
A flash memory cell is provided. The flash memory cell includes a substrate having a source and a drain formed therein, a bit line contact formed above the drain, a control gate formed above the substrate, a spacer floating gate formed above the substrate and adjacent to the control gate, and a first spacer formed between the bit line contact and the control gate, wherein the first spacer is in contact with both the bit line contact and the control gate.
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1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to a floating gate flash memory and the method of manufacture thereof and, more particularly, to a flash memory cell having a floating gate that includes a projection formed above a control gate thereof.
2. Background Information
In recent years, flash memories such as floating gate flash memories have been widely used in electronic products such as digital cameras, camcorders, mobile phones, mobile computers, etc. Advantages of flash memories include non-volatility, i.e., information may be stored in the memory even when power supply is disconnected, and fast erasure speed. A floating gate flash memory may be manufactured on a semiconductor substrate and generally includes an array of memory cells each having a control gate and a floating gates. Electric charges may be stored in the floating gate, thereby changing a status of the respective memory cell. The structure of a conventional floating gate flash memory 100 is described in the following with reference to
Problems associated with memory cell 104 as shown in
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a novel flash memory and a manufacturing method thereof that obviate one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a flash memory cell that includes a substrate having a source and a drain formed therein, a bit line contact formed above the drain, a control gate formed above the substrate, a spacer floating gate formed above the substrate and adjacent to the control gate, and a first spacer formed between the bit line contact and the control gate, wherein the first spacer is in contact with both the bit line contact and the control gate.
In accordance with the present invention, there is also provided a flash memory cell that includes a substrate having a source and a drain formed therein, a bit line contact formed above the drain, a floating gate formed above the substrate, a control gate formed above at least a first portion of the substrate, a layer of dielectric formed between the control gate and the floating gate, wherein the floating gate includes a projection formed above a part of the first portion of the substrate and isolated from the control gate by the layer of dielectric.
In accordance with the present invention, there is still provided a flash memory including a plurality of memory cells. Each memory cell includes a substrate having a source and a drain formed therein, a bit line contact formed above the drain, a floating gate formed above the substrate, a control gate formed above at least a first portion of the substrate, a spacer formed between the control gate and the bit line contact, wherein the spacer is in contact with both the bit line contact and the control gate, and a layer of dielectric formed between the control gate and the floating gate, wherein the floating gate includes a projection formed above a part of the first portion of the substrate and isolated from the control gate by the layer of dielectric.
Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a flash memory cell that includes forming a source and a drain in a substrate, forming a control gate above at least a first portion of the substrate, wherein the control gate has a first sidewall and a second sidewall, forming a first spacer on the first sidewall of the control gate, forming a second spacer on the second sidewall of the control gate, forming a bit line contact above the drain to provide a contact to the drain, wherein the bit line contact is in contact with the first spacer, and forming a floating gate above the substrate and in contact with the second spacer, wherein the floating gate includes a projection above a part of the first portion of the substrate.
Still in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a flash memory that includes providing a substrate, forming a layer of gate dielectric, forming a plurality of composite structures above the gate dielectric, each composite structure including a first conductive pattern, a doped oxide pattern, and a nitride pattern, removing the nitride pattern in each composite structure, partially etching the first conductive patterns and the doped oxide patterns to form two control gates out of each first conductive pattern, forming a plurality of first spacers each on a first sidewall of one of the control gates, wherein each first spacer fully covers the first sidewall of the corresponding control gate, forming a plurality of second spacers each on a second sidewall of one of the control gates, partially removing the plurality of second spacers to expose a side of the doped oxide pattern and a portion of each control gate, forming a plurality of third spacers on the exposed portions of the control gates, forming a plurality of floating gates on the third spacers, and forming each of a plurality of bit line contacts between every two control gates formed out of one first conductive pattern.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the features, advantages, and principles of the invention.
In the drawings:
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
Embodiments consistent with the present invention provide for a novel floating gate flash memory and the manufacturing method thereof. The described method obviates the problems associated with misalignment during processing steps and the described memory cell has a faster erasure speed compared to conventional flash memory devices.
A manufacturing method of a flash memory 200 consistent with the present invention is now described with reference to
Referring to
Referring to
Next, semiconductor substrate 202 with composite structure 212 formed thereon is dipped in a hydrofluoric (HF) solvent and therefore isotropically etched. Because oxide 208a is doped with impurities, an etching speed thereof in the HF solvent is higher than that of conductive pattern 206a and nitride pattern 210a. Thus, a recess 214 is formed at each side of doped oxide pattern 208a between nitride pattern 210a and conductive pattern 206a, as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Next, as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Next, spacers 226a are partially removed using a patterned photoresist 229.
Then, as shown in
Referring to
Conductive layer 234 is then etched to form floating gates 234a, or spacer floating gates 234a, as shown in
After floating gates 234a are formed, an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer 236 is deposited above the entire surface of the resultant structure, as shown in
Finally, using patterned photoresist 238 as an etching mask, ILD layer 236 is etched to expose drain region 224, as shown in
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the disclosed structures and methods without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
Claims
1. A flash memory cell, comprising:
- a substrate having a source and a drain formed therein;
- a bit line contact formed above the drain;
- a control gate formed above the substrate;
- a spacer floating gate formed above the substrate and adjacent to the control gate; and
- a first spacer formed between the bit line contact and the control gate, wherein the first spacer is in contact with both the bit line contact and the control gate.
2. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a semiconductor substrate.
3. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises silicon.
4. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the spacer floating gate includes a projection above a part of the control gate.
5. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the bit line contact is electrically connected to the drain.
6. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the bit line contact comprises at least one of tungsten, copper, aluminum, and polysilicon.
7. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the first spacer comprises silicon nitride.
8. The memory cell of claim 1, further comprising an interlayer dielectric formed above the control gate and the spacer floating gate, wherein the interlayer dielectric has a via hole, through which the bit line contact is formed.
9. A flash memory cell, comprising:
- a substrate having a source and a drain formed therein;
- a bit line contact formed above the drain;
- a floating gate formed above the substrate;
- a control gate formed above at least a first portion of the substrate;
- a layer of dielectric formed between the control gate and the floating gate, wherein the floating gate includes a projection formed above a part of the first portion of the substrate and isolated from the control gate by the layer of dielectric.
10. The memory cell of claim 9, wherein the substrate is a semiconductor substrate.
11. The memory cell of claim 9, wherein the substrate comprises silicon.
12. The memory cell of claim 9, wherein the bit line contact is electrically connected to the drain.
13. The memory cell of claim 9, wherein the bit line contact comprises at least one of tungsten, copper, aluminum, and polysilicon.
14. The memory cell of claim 9, further comprising a first spacer formed between the control gate and the bit line contact, wherein the spacer is in contact with both the control gate and the bit line contact.
15. The memory cell of claim 14, wherein the first spacer comprises a nitride.
16. The memory cell of claim 9, further comprising
- a layer of doped oxide formed above the control gate;
- a second spacer formed above the layer of doped oxide; and
- a recess formed at an edge of the layer of doped oxide between the second spacer and the control gate, wherein the projection of the floating gate is located in the recess.
17. A flash memory, comprising:
- a plurality of memory cells each comprising
- a substrate having a source and a drain formed therein;
- a bit line contact formed above the drain;
- a floating gate formed above the substrate;
- a control gate formed above at least a first portion of the substrate;
- a spacer formed between the control gate and the bit line contact, wherein the spacer is in contact with both the bit line contact and the control gate; and
- a layer of dielectric formed between the control gate and the floating gate, wherein the floating gate includes a projection formed above a part of the first portion of the substrate and isolated from the control gate by the layer of dielectric.
18. A method of forming a flash memory cell, comprising:
- forming a source and a drain in a substrate;
- forming a control gate above at least a first portion of the substrate, wherein the control gate has a first sidewall and a second sidewall;
- forming a first spacer on the first sidewall of the control gate;
- forming a second spacer on the second sidewall of the control gate;
- forming a bit line contact above the drain to provide a contact to the drain, wherein the bit line contact is in contact with the first spacer; and
- forming a floating gate above the substrate and in contact with the second spacer, wherein the floating gate includes a projection above a part of the first portion of the substrate.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising forming a layer of doped oxide above the control gate;
- forming a third spacer above the doped oxide; and
- forming a recess at an edge of the doped oxide and between the third spacer and the control gate,
- wherein the projection of the floating gate is formed in the recess.
20. The method of claim 18, further comprising forming a layer of dielectric between the floating gate and the substrate, wherein the layer of dielectric and the second spacer are formed in a single processing step.
21. The method of claim 18, wherein forming a control gate comprises
- forming a layer of gate dielectric above the substrate;
- forming a first conductive layer above the gate dielectric;
- forming a layer of doped oxide above the first conductive layer;
- forming a layer of nitride above the doped oxide;
- patterning the nitride, the doped oxide, and the first conductive layer to form a nitride pattern, a doped oxide pattern, and a first conductive pattern;
- depositing a sacrificial layer above the gate dielectric and the nitride pattern;
- polishing the sacrificial layer to expose the nitride pattern;
- removing the nitride pattern to expose the doped oxide pattern, forming a first opening in the sacrificial layer;
- depositing a first insulating layer above the sacrificial layer and the exposed doped oxide pattern;
- anisotropically etching the first insulating layer to expose the doped oxide pattern, forming at least one third spacer in the first opening;
- using the at least one third spacer as an etching mask, etching the doped oxide pattern and the first conductive pattern to form the control gate.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising isotropically etching the doped oxide pattern to create a first recess at an edge of the doped oxide pattern between the nitride pattern and first conductive pattern, wherein forming a second spacer comprises forming the second spacer on a sidewall of the first conductive pattern and in the first recess.
23. The method of claim 18, wherein forming the first spacer comprises forming the first spacer such that the first spacer fully covers the first sidewall of the control gate.
24. A method of forming a flash memory, comprising
- providing a substrate;
- forming a layer of gate dielectric;
- forming a plurality of composite structures above the gate dielectric, each composite structure including a first conductive pattern, a doped oxide pattern, and a nitride pattern;
- removing the nitride pattern in each composite structure;
- partially etching the first conductive patterns and the doped oxide patterns to form two control gates out of each first conductive pattern;
- forming a plurality of first spacers each on a first sidewall of one of the control gates, wherein each first spacer fully covers the first sidewall of the corresponding control gate;
- forming a plurality of second spacers each on a second sidewall of one of the control gates;
- partially removing the plurality of second spacers to expose a side of the doped oxide pattern and a portion of each control gate;
- forming a plurality of third spacers on the exposed portions of the control gates;
- forming a plurality of floating gates on the third spacers; and
- forming each of a plurality of bit line contacts between every two control gates formed out of one first conductive pattern.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein forming a plurality of composite structures comprises
- forming a first conductive layer above the gate dielectric;
- forming a layer of doped oxide above the first conductive layer;
- forming a layer of nitride of the layer of doped oxide; and
- patterning the nitride, the doped oxide, and the first conductive layer.
26. The method of claim 24, further comprising
- isotropically etching the doped oxide pattern of each composite structure to create a plurality of first recesses at edges of the doped oxide pattern prior to removing the nitride pattern in each composite structure; and
- forming a layer of oxide on sidewalls of each first conductive pattern, wherein the second oxide includes a bird's beak formed in a respective first recess.
27. The method of claim 24, wherein removing the nitride pattern in each composite structure comprises
- depositing a sacrificial layer above the gate dielectric and the composite structures;
- polishing the sacrificial layer to expose the nitride pattern of each composite structure; and
- removing the nitride pattern in each composite structure by plasma etching or reactive ion etching to expose the doped oxide patterns, forming a plurality of first openings in the sacrificial layer.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein partially etching the first conductive patterns and the doped oxide patterns comprises
- depositing a first insulating layer above the sacrificial layer and the exposed doped oxide patterns;
- anisotropically etching the first insulating layer to expose the doped oxide patterns, forming a plurality of fourth spacers on sidewalls of the first openings; and
- using the fourth spacers as an etching mask, etching the doped oxide patterns and the first conductive patterns to form the control gates.
29. The method of claim 24, wherein forming the plurality of first spacers each on the first sidewall of one of the control gates comprising
- depositing a layer of nitride above the control gates and the substrate; and
- patterning the layer of nitride to form the first spacers.
30. The method of claim 29, further comprising forming a plurality of drain regions by implanting ions using the first spacers and the control gates as a mask.
31. The method of claim 24, wherein forming a plurality of second spacers comprises
- depositing a layer of nitride above the control gates and the substrate; and
- patterning the layer of nitride to form the second spacers.
32. The method of claim 31, further comprising forming a plurality of source regions by implanting ions using the second spacers as a mask.
33. The method of claim 24, further comprising etching a side of the doped oxide patterns to create a plurality of second recesses at the edge of each doped oxide pattern prior to forming the third spacers.
34. The method of claim 33, wherein each of the floating gates includes a projection formed in a corresponding one of the second recesses.
35. The method of claim 24, wherein providing a substrate comprises providing the substrate as a semiconductor substrate.
36. The method of claim 24, wherein forming a plurality of composite structures comprises forming each of the plurality of composite structures to include the first conductive pattern as a pattern of a metal layer or a polysilicon layer.
37. The method of claim 24, wherein forming the first spacers comprises forming the first spacers as silicon nitride spacers.
38. The method of claim 24, wherein forming the second spacers comprises forming the first spacers as silicon oxide spacers.
39. The method of claim 24, wherein forming the third spacers comprises forming the first spacers as silicon oxide spacers.
40. The method of claim 24, wherein forming the bit line contacts includes forming the bit line contacts as comprising copper, tungsten, aluminum, or polysilicon.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 15, 2004
Publication Date: Jan 19, 2006
Patent Grant number: 7262093
Applicant:
Inventor: Tings Wang (Hsinchu)
Application Number: 10/891,076
International Classification: H01L 21/336 (20060101); H01L 29/788 (20060101);